31st March 2023, Mumbai: Mike Downey, an Irish producer and advocate for the film industry, has been given the first Stockfish Film Festival lifetime achievement award in recognition of his work in the world of cinema. The honour is given to professionals who have excelled in the “academy, production, distribution, film festival, and market scenes” and was given out at a private ceremony on Wednesday night.
Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return to Montauk, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan, and Adrian Sibley’s documentary The Ghost of Richard Harris are just a few of the more than 100 feature films that Downey, the founder of Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), has producing credits on. On the eagerly awaited Franz Kafka biopic Kafka, starring Tom Holland, he is now working. In addition to the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is a member of the BAFTA Council and the Asia Pacific Film Academy.
But, Downey is likely better renowned in the movie business for his tenacious advocacy on behalf of filmmakers facing financial difficulties. He was a key player in the successful fight to free Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov, who was imprisoned after being detained by Russian authorities in 2015 for allegedly engaging in “terrorist acts” following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Downey was a member of the team that established the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) in 2020 to assist the film industry’s collective action on behalf of filmmakers who are subject to political retaliation for their work.
The ICFR has actively supported directors and members of the film industry who have been forced to leave their countries because of conflict or political persecution. It has also advocated for the release of filmmakers who are currently detained in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Belarus, and Myanmar, among other countries. The ICFR established a fund to aid filmmakers in times of need with small contributions to cover moving costs temporarily as well as legal and administrative costs for visas and other travel papers.
At the Stockfish festival, Downey debuted his most recent project, The Rise and Fall of Comrade Zylo, which he co-wrote and which Fatmir Koci directed.
“Some of the best European filmmakers are from Iceland, and Stockfish is a fantastic festival”, according to Downey. “Winning an award from one’s colleagues is the only thing that can compare to receiving one from the audience. After producing a dozen films in Iceland or starring Icelandic actors, I can honestly state that I feel doubly honoured. This, I feel, comes from a sense of freedom in my education and this moulded a sense of enormous independence in how I have managed my profession. I have been so fortunate in my working life to be able to see early on the difference between having a job – and having a calling. The ability to conflate work and play and, to use a cliché, “do what we love and enjoy what we do,” is something that cannot be purchased.”